Partly cloudy skies. Low 51F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy skies. Low 51F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: September 11, 2025 @ 4:24 pm
Several students from Northeast Tennessee high schools were recently named as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, according to the nonprofit National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Science Hill High School in Johnson City led the region with five semifinalists: Clara Hagemeier, Saxon Mattison, Zoe Norman, Sawyer Ward and Christian Zarate. The students were among more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide announced Wednesday by the nonprofit to compete in the annual Merit competition.
“We are incredibly proud of our National Merit Semifinalists,” Science Hill Principal Carmen Bryant said in a public statement. “Their achievement represents not only their talent and perseverance but also the support of their families, teachers and the entire Johnson City Schools community. These students are leaders both in and out of the classroom, and we look forward to seeing the many ways they will continue to shine.”
Kingsport also contributed a handful of semifinalists from Dobyns-Bennett High School – Eesha Kothari, Arrush Nagre, Aparajita Vashisth and Laila Venzon – along with Daniel McKinney, another Kingsport student who is homeschooled.
Other Northeast Tennessee semifinalists included Dominic Shipley from Tennessee High School in Bristol, Dorian P. Carpenter from Morristown-Hamblen High School East and Joshua Epling, a homeschooled student from Watauga.
The semifinalists represent some of the nation’s top academic performers and less than 1% of all U.S. high school students, according to Merit leaders.
Students must submit a detailed application with academic records to advance as finalists. Semifinalists must also maintain outstanding academic records throughout high school and confirm high test scores on the ACT or SAT, among other requirements.
Finalists will be named in February 2026, according to the organization. The nonprofit expects to select more than 15,000 students as finalists from the current pool of semifinalists.
About $26 million in scholarships will be awarded across three categories: 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships distributed on a state-representational basis, about 830 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, and approximately 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
Scholarship recipients will be announced in four nationwide releases beginning in April and concluding in July.
For more information, visit www.nationalmerit.org.
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